Category - Respect

“Every religion has dignity; every religion that respects life”, remarked Pope Francis at a press conference during a visit to Asia. This included a visit to a Buddhist temple while he was in Sri Lanka.

Following an appearance at the Edinburgh Festival this year, Jeremy Paxman remarked that it was “almost impossible to exaggerate the public’s contempt for politicians.” This is probably true and much of that scorn is of politicians' own making.

The role of religion in the general election is far from straightforward. Politicians and the media need to recognise the diversity of religious engagement with politics on a much wider range of issues than they sometimes seem to notice.